ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office on Thursday said Pakistani citizens aboard a vessel in Somalia have been held hostage for the past 15 days and the government was making continuous efforts to secure their safe release.
During the weekly media briefing, the FO spokesperson stated that Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar recently spoke with Somalia’s Foreign Minister Abdisalam Ali to discuss ongoing efforts aimed at securing the release of the hostages.
He added that Pakistan had also engaged diplomatically on the issue by summoning the Somali ambassador in Islamabad, while the Foreign Secretary held detailed discussions with the envoy regarding the situation.
The spokesperson said Pakistan is deeply concerned about the current situation in the Middle East and continues to call for de-escalation and resolution of conflicts through diplomatic means.
He noted that U.S.-mediated efforts had helped achieve a ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel. He also mentioned a recent visit to Pakistan by Lebanese Armed Forces Chief General Rudolf Heikal, during which he met Chief of Army Staff and Chief of Defence Forces Field Marshal Asim Munir.
In additional diplomatic updates, the spokesperson said that the Deputy Prime Minister recently held a telephone conversation with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan. He also confirmed that Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi delivered a state message to Iranian leadership during his recent visit to Tehran, though details could not be disclosed.
Responding to a statement from India’s Ministry of External Affairs on Kashmir, the spokesperson rejected it outright, reiterating that Jammu and Kashmir remains an internationally recognized disputed territory. He said Pakistan will continue to extend diplomatic, political, and moral support to the Kashmiri people.
